SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $12.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised SunCoke Energy from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

NYSE SXC opened at $10.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.30. SunCoke Energy has a 12-month low of $6.71 and a 12-month high of $11.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $866.76 million, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $488.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.40 million. SunCoke Energy had a net margin of 2.97% and a return on equity of 9.48%. SunCoke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SunCoke Energy will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SunCoke Energy news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $531,394.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 763,409 shares in the company, valued at $8,344,060.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other SunCoke Energy news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 78,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.06, for a total value of $870,576.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,786,490.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $531,394.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 763,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,344,060.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,572 shares of company stock worth $2,781,834 in the last quarter. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in SunCoke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Institutional investors own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc operates as an independent producer of coke in the Americas and Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal. The company also provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke, electric utility, coal producing, and other manufacturing based customers.